Poroshenko unveiled a plan to overcome the crisis: the resignation of the government, a new coalition in the Rada, and a restoration of trust.
In his video address, Petro Poroshenko outlined the immediate steps to overcome the profound crisis caused by the exposure of corruption within the government. He emphasized that, in the face of a full-scale Russian invasion, it is crucial to prevent internal destabilization, and that the country needs genuine, not merely declarative, unity.
“Partners are shocked, society is disillusioned. And what other reaction can we expect from Ukrainians who sit without power for 10-15 hours? And the only source of light is their gadget monitors, and even those, on the remnants of their chargers, display figures—100 million dollars, billions of hryvnias, stolen by officials, and not just now. All this is happening amidst an intensified Russian offensive, when we are on the brink of losing strategic positions in the east and south. We need responsible, decisive, and honest steps from politicians, especially from the authorities,” the fifth President believes.
“Instead of taking measures to bring the guilty to justice, they’re helping them flee abroad. They’re imposing ridiculous sanctions against Mindich, worded in a way that effectively makes him inaccessible to Ukrainian justice. And perhaps that’s precisely their goal. They’re covering their tracks instead of ensuring his extradition to Ukraine. Instead of ensuring his extradition to Ukraine, they’re waging a discrediting campaign against NABU, activists, and the opposition, trying to portray all critics as Russian agents. They’re orchestrating a primitive PR campaign that will never convince anyone.
“Money won’t put out this fire, and it’s indecent to try to salvage our tarnished reputation with taxpayer money, with budget funds, while taking that money from the soldiers. And we might not even get IMF aid,” the party leader warns.
“What really needs to be done? At the very least, stop the decline in trust,” Poroshenko urges.
“The anti-crisis plan our team is presenting to parliament on Monday—national unity—must cease to be mere declarations and window dressing. An honest conversation involving the President must finally take place, because there are too many questions for him. One of the key steps to restoring trust is guarantees of non-attack by the authorities against NABU and SAPO . They knew about the recordings, remembered what they said, and wanted to nip the case in the bud. Now NABU must follow through on these cases, wherever the trail of corruption leads.
According to him, the resignation of only two ministers is a profanation.
“The published records contain the names of at least five officials, and that’s just what we know. There’s also financial intelligence. And there’s the Antimonopoly Service. And we don’t know everything. So this entire corrupt, collective Cabinet must finally resign en masse . And this isn’t about replacing it, but about restoring its political agency. Like parliament, Ukraine is a parliamentary-presidential republic, and it’s precisely on this basis that a new, viable coalition must be formed to replace the one that currently exists de facto in parliament, like a civil marriage between the Servants of the People. [The sentence appears to be incomplete and likely a mistranslation.] “The solution is to save specialists with impeccable reputations,” explains Petro Poroshenko.
” The 2026 budget they’re trying to push through this week is categorically unacceptable . It’s not just antisocial, it’s tailored to the whims of corrupt officials who, as we see, controlled many ministers. It’s a source and fuel for corruption and doesn’t provide adequate funding for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Poroshenko noted.
“The corruption scandal of recent days has clearly demonstrated why the authoritarian regime was truly built and why censorship exists in the country. It’s to hide the truth. The only telethon and Telegram channels with millions of subscribers, operating under the control of the Presidential Office, showed their true colors precisely during the scandal . The notorious ‘temniks’ existed in Ukraine. This must end,” Poroshenko demands.
“Another figure in the recordings is the State Bureau of Investigation. There’s no room for stigma. Our demand, and the demand of our European partners, is a complete reboot of the State Bureau of Investigation based on a transparent competition with the participation of international experts , just as we once formed the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Parliament must draw up a roadmap for implementing the requirements contained in the European Parliament resolutions . These are not optional, but mandatory, for EU candidate countries,” the European Solidarity leader recalled.
“I suspect that some may find our analysis and proposals too lenient. I agree that under different circumstances, our assessments should be much sharper, and the authorities deserve a much harsher punishment than simply the government’s resignation. But only given the extremely critical situation on the front lines have we formulated a package of proposals that will not cause destabilization. On the contrary, it prevented significantly worse consequences. The keywords of our plan are trust, fairness, and responsibility .
As is well known, Ukraine has been hit by the largest corruption scandal of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s tenure, engulfing his inner circle and leading to resignations and high-profile political statements. The investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) has generated significant public outcry and attracted international partners.
Meanwhile, journalists published a report on a corruption investigation involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner circle. The report states that the revelations are already creating political pressure and could impact his international support .
Meanwhile, following Operation Midas, which exposed large-scale corruption at Energoatom and rocked government bodies, a systematic campaign to discredit NABU and the SAPO was launched on Ukrainian Telegram . Anti-corruption agencies called the operation one of the most effective of 2025, but alongside its successes, a wave of identical messages appeared, attacking investigators and prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office, stated that corruption is an integral part of the modern economy, regardless of the country’s political system. He also reported that the Ukrainian authorities responded promptly to the corruption scandal in the energy sector.